Being a Night Owl May Be Bad for Your Health

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2015/04/08/being-a-night-owl-may-be-bad-for-your-health/

by yogi123 • 11 years ago

1 2 11 years ago

mobile.nytimes.com

smt88• 11 years ago

Like most mass-media writeups of scientific studies, there's no science here. The sample size is absolutely tiny, and it's poorly designed on top of that.

Here are some problems with it:

- The sample size is absolutely insignificant. For studies that we want to generalize to all humans, a sample of at least 100,000 is ideal.

- This is not longitudinal or experimental data. We have no idea if we're just seeing a random correlation or not. There are simply too many variables to control for, especially with such a small population.

- Only people 47 to 59 were studied, and the questionnaire was administered in the present. We don't know what their sleep patterns have been in the past.

- The groups were self-reported, which likely caused problems. What if you're a morning person on weekdays, but not on weekends?

- Correlated health issues, like obesity or diabetes, might be the cause rather than the effect.

- They're presumably all Korean. I don't know how this might influence the study, but it very well might.

anigbrowl• 11 years ago

Not as bad as obsessing over wellness porn in the popular press.

Being a Night Owl May Be Bad for Your Health

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